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Trump Fires Three Democratic Commissioners from Consumer Product Safety Commission

The dismissals test presidential authority over independent agencies as fired commissioners vow legal action.

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Elliot Kaye (L), chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and CPSC employees watch as a 28-pound (13 kilo) dummy(C) falls over and under IKEAs Malm model chest of drawers, during a live demonstration at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on June 28, 2016. Furniture giant Ikea said June 28 it would recall its hugely popular Malm model of chest of drawers in the US and Canada after six children in the US were crushed to death when the chests tipped over. In 2015, Ikea launched a campaign in the US and Canada to encourage owners of the Malm chests of drawers to anchor them to the wall.
Richard Trumka Jr. accepts the Presidential Medal of Freedom on behalf of his father the late Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, from U.S. President Joe Biden during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House July 7, 2022 in Washington, DC.
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Overview

  • President Trump removed Democratic appointees Richard Trumka Jr., Mary Boyle, and Alexander Hoehn-Saric from the CPSC, leaving only two Republican commissioners on the five-member board.
  • The firings follow a visit by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to the CPSC offices, where commissioners reportedly resisted efforts to integrate DOGE personnel into the agency.
  • The dismissed commissioners argue their removal violates the law, citing their fixed terms and the precedent set by the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor decision protecting independent agency officials from dismissal without cause.
  • Consumer Reports and congressional Democrats criticized the move as a threat to the independence of the CPSC, which regulates the safety of everyday products like toys, strollers, and lithium-ion batteries.
  • The Supreme Court is preparing to hear related cases on presidential removal powers at other independent agencies, potentially reshaping the balance of executive authority.